American Larch

Growing Regions

Tamarack is distributed across most of northern North America. It
occurs from Newfoundland and Labrador northwest across northern Canada
to the northern Yukon Territory, south to northeastern British Columbia
and central Alberta, southeast to southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and
northeastern Illinois, and east to New England [32]. A major disjunct
population occurs in the interior of Alaska between the Brooks Range to
the north and Alaska Range to the south [26]. It also occurs locally in
the mountains of West Virginia and western Maryland.

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of tamarack is Larix laricina (Du
Roi) K. Koch [32]. The genus Larix consists of 10 species of deciduous,
coniferous trees found in cool, temperate regions of the northern
hemisphere. Three species of Larix, including tamarack, are native to
North America.
Tamarack is a widely distributed species that exhibits considerable
genetic variation. At one time, plants from Alaska were considered as
either a distinct species or as a variety of tamarack. Recent research
shows that although Alaskan plants exhibit some variation in cone and
needle characteristics, the variation is insufficient to warrant
recognition as a separate species or variety [39]. Across tamarack's
range the pattern of variation is gradual, and no varieties or ecotypes
are currently recognized [26].
Natural hybridization between tamarack and other larches has not been
documented. Tamarack has been artifically crossed with Japanese larch
(L. leptolepis) and European larch (L. decidua) [26].

In northern Minnesota and throughout much of Canada, tamarack forms
extensive pure stands. Throughout the rest of its range in the United
States it forms isolated pure stands or is a minor component of other
forest types [26]. In the northeastern United States, tamarack is
characteristically found in open and forested bogs, but it seldom
dominates in forested bog communities [9]. Throughout its range, black
spruce (Picea mariana) is usually associated with tamarack. In Alaska,
black spruce and tamarack may codominate wet, lowland sites with shallow
permafrost [48].
Tamarack is sometimes a dominant tree in seral lowland communities. It
has been listed as a community type (cts) dominant in the following
classifications:
Area Classification Authority
AK general veg. cts Viereck & Dyrness 1980
AB general veg. cts Moss 1955
PQ: ST. Lawrence general veg. pas, cts Dansereau 1959
Valley